Longwood College Mace

Access and use

Location of collection:
Longwood University
Archives and Special Collections
Greenwood Library
Longwood University
401 Redford Street
Farmville, VA 23909
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (434) 395-2432
Fax: (434) 395-2453
Restrictions:

The mace is on permanent display in the Greenwood Library atrium. There are no restrictions to access or use for research purposes

Summary

Extent:
1 Object Mace is displayed in case in Greenwood Library Atrium and 2 Folder
Language:
English .

Background

Scope and content:

Collection includes the college mace as well as paperwork detailing the mace's design process and purchase.

Biographical / historical:

The Longwood College mace was presented to the college by Zeta Tau Alpha in 1974 in commemoration of the silver anniversary of the sorority's founding at teh college in 1898. The mace is designed in the form of a lily and was designed by Stanley Lechtzin, a goldsmith and jewler in Philadelphia.

Custodial history:

The mace was put on permanent display in Greenwood Library in 1997, and then in 2007 it was transfered from the collection of the Longwood Center for Visual Arts to the Greenwood Library Archives.

Physical description:
From the press release published October 23, 1974 "The top and base of the mace are electroformed silver, with gold-plated interior. The shaft is carved acrylic (plexiglass), frosted by sandblasting. The three medallions are the Longwood College Seal, the seal of the commonwealth of Virginia, and Joan of Arc. The lily was the chosen form because it appears in the coat of Arms of Joan of Arc. The 38-inch mace took seven months to sculpt.